Anniversary Game 6/Anonymous Game 7: We Shall All Be Changed

[Fifth Scholar]

Hello SE, and congratulations on somehow surviving another year of murders and bloodshed.  Welcome to Anniversary Game 6/Anonymous Game 7: We Shall All Be Changed. Before discussing the game itself, however, I have several important announcements to make on behalf of the moderating team, and would encourage all of you to fully read through them. 

The first and most pressing matter is that of the moderation team itself. Unfortunately for all of us, both @Orlok Tsubodai and @Alvron have felt that their schedules no longer permit them to serve as effective moderators for the subforum, and have decided to step down. Needless to say, this is very saddening, as both have given years of service to SE and its community, helping to shape it into a better place, and both the logic and clarity of Orlok and the (sometimes lurking) activity of Alv will be missed on the moderating team and the subforum. We wish them the best of luck as they dedicate themselves to their respective pursuits, and hope that they will find the time to occasionally sneak back into a game or two. Their replacements on the moderating team will be @Elbereth, the other GM for this game, and @Devotary of Spontaneity, and I am confident that both will be excellent additions who will help Wilson and I tremendously in the coming years. El brings with her a wealth of experience in conflict resolution and a veteran perspective as two other long-time players depart, and Devotary’s keen sense of balance and impartiality will also be welcome in game balance review and our thankfully infrequent moderation.

With changes in the moderation team, our game balance committee is also undergoing a shift in membership. We are pleased to welcome both @Amanuensis and @STINK back into the committee, and to receive @Elandera, @Araris Valerian, and @Sart as its new members who will be helping with game review. The committee will also be taking on responsibilities such as keeping the GM spreadsheet updated, revising the rules and Lexicon to reflect a post-AG2 understanding of SE, and giving additional feedback in the Art of Game Creation thread—undertakings which moderation has historically wished to be able to do, but there never seems to be enough hours in the day. With the revitalised committee, however, we hope to see these changes finally be made. 

The final significant alteration to SE policy is with respect to the SE Discord server established by @A Joe in the Bush and currently owned by @little wilson. While the Discord has been incredibly successful on its own merits, its well-being and the casual community fostered there have come at the expense of the subforum’s health and the activity of socialising institutions such as spectator and dead docs, PMs, and the games themselves, which have experienced a falling-off in activity recently. Therefore, to stem community migration to the server, we are officially divorcing it from the subforum—it will be removed from the General Rules thread, the #game_creation channel will be archived to incentivise participation in the largely defunct Art of Game Creation thread, and we ask that you not invite new members to the Discord, but instead encourage them to remain in the subforum and use the games and docs for social interaction. With these changes, we hope to revitalise the SE community and bring personal discussion and RP back into the games. It might surprise you, but you are allowed to talk about your life or begin off topic discussions in docs and PMs, and doing so actually helps both the community and the games.  

That should be it for sweeping structural changes, so onto a couple of smaller points. First, the variety of GMs in the spreadsheet for upcoming games is depressingly low, and we’d love to see more people creating and running games. With the reinvigorated committee and mod team, there are plenty of people eager to help out if you have a game idea you’re looking to refine, including El and I, and we’ll get you signed up on whichever list you’d like. (And once it comes to actually GMing, there are plenty of experienced players happy to help you co-GM.) So please contact us if you have any ideas you’d like to see run.  Second, we’re implementing automatic spectator lists, which you can sign up for to be immediately PMed a spec doc for any game you’re not participating in, hopefully further incentivising people to contribute to spec docs. Finally, after a break during AG5, we are back to handing out non-Sanderson game passes, and will be distributing 3 or 4 after the game to worthy recipients. We won’t be revealing exact criteria, but worthy players are likely to be active, thoughtful and sensible players who foster discussion and community within the games. Just a thought.

/announcements 

 

Oh no! Although Dalinar Kholin has successfully re-founded the Knights Radiant upon the formerly lost city of Urithiru, there looks to be an insurgent faction of the new Knights sympathetic to ODIUM, the Lord of Hate. While you’re aware of their existence, a small group of cornered individuals with mystical powers and incentive to kill...well, that can be a dangerous thing. Besides, should the Knights fall, who will guard Roshar when the Final Desolation begins in earnest? 

Factions: 

Spoiler

Loyal Knights Radiant: Win when all of Odium’s Sympathisers have been lynched or killed. 

Odium’s Sympathisers: Win by killing all of the Loyal Knights Radiant, or by securing a lynch-proof majority. They have a Google doc to collaborate in and a group Night kill which any faction member may use the Night action to submit. 

Roles: 

Spoiler

Windrunner: Each Night, the Windrunner may uphold their Oaths, and protect another player from a single attack. This ability may not be used on the same player two Nights in a row. 

Dustbringer: Each Night, the Dustbringer may use the Surge of Division to kill a player. 

Edgedancer: While any Edgedancer is alive, PMs are completely open (group PMs included, with up to one-half of all living players). Once all Edgedancers are dead, nobody is around to deliver messages anymore, and private PMs are closed. Each Night, the Edgedancer may submit an anonymous message to be posted in the next Day’s writeup. 

Elsecaller: An Elsecaller may use the Surge of Transportation once per game to escape a single lynch or kill attempt. This ability is passive.

Bondsmith: Each Day turn, a Bondsmith may use his leadership and influence to cow another player, cancelling their vote. 

Willshaper: Each Day turn, a Willshaper may use their powers to transfer one player’s vote to another player, at the cost of negating their own vote. 

Skybreaker: Each Night, the Skybreaker may investigate one person, targeting them to discover their role and alignment. 

Lightweaver: Each Night, a Lightweaver may cover himself and up to one other player with illusions, keeping them safe from Skybreakers, Bondsmiths, and Willshaper until the end of the next Day turn. 

Worldhopper: Each Day turn, receives a random Radiant power. If a previously held power would be received, the die is rerolled, and the new power is granted regardless of whether or not it was previously held.

New Recruit: You’ll be a Radiant...someday. For now, you have no special powers, but your voice is still important to the group—with all the real Radiants off using their powers, you’re content to observe the action and see who may be lying. Have no special abilities.

Cosmetic Roles (please read before signing up): 

Spoiler

This AG, we’re reviving the tradition begun in AG3 of using Cosmetic Roles (CRs for short). CRs are essentially add-ons to your post, providing a basis for your RP character if you’re struggling with inspiration and keeping everyone engaged with the setting throughout the game. As such, everyone will choose one before they begin the game, and you are expected to use it reasonably consistently (at least once per turn, preferably in every post you make). It shouldn’t be a burden, as you can choose something you like from the list below, or PM El and I about an idea you have for your own character. Enjoy!  

Roshar-specific (generally better for more complex RP characters)

Adolin’s Former Girlfriend: As Adolin’s relationships have “progressed,” you’ve been left behind after about two weeks (maybe even three). In every post, you must express one of the stages of grief over Adolin leaving you. 

Once a Darkeyes: Despite being newly Radiant and with your eyes bleeding to lighter colours, you still despise the privileged and elitist lighteyes. In every post, you must express displeasure at a lighteyes or lament your own changing eye colour. 

Ardent: You serve the Almighty alone, committing yourself to a life of poverty to help others find and fulfill their Callings. In every post, you must advertise your chosen devotary (make it interesting) or offer spiritual counseling to another player. 

Bad Stormwarden: You secured a position as Dalinar’s stormwarden, but ever since the Everstorm appeared along with the unplanned highstorm, you’ve been completely baffled by what you once thought was predictable. In every post, you must reference some form of storm or make a weather prediction. 

Truthless: You have been condemned to a life of servitude for your past sins, obeying your new master without question as your just punishment. In every post, you must reference your Oathstone or the instructions of your master which you are carrying out. 

Lost Axehound: In the midst of the chaos surrounding Urithiru, things got even worse when your favourite axehound escaped from its bunker. In every post, you must make mention of your axehound (give it a cute name) or find another clue of its presence in your hunt for it. 

Roshar-flavoured (have parallels on other worlds)

Brightlord/Brightness: It must be really horrible for those puny darkeyes, going about their days actually having to work for their food. Why can’t they learn to sip violet wine like the rest of civilised society? In every post, you must disparage a darkeyes or flaunt your wealth in some form or another. 

Scribe/Scholar: You work with the likes of the great Jasnah and Navani Kholin, helping to further human knowledge and learning. Your literacy has granted you access to a wealth of knowledge. In every post, you must quote a book (real or imaginary). 

Scout: You’ve been sent ahead by Dalinar to sort out the maze of tunnels which Urithiru contains. However, you’ve found some weird stuff down there. In every post, you must mention a new object or location you’ve found. 

Drunkard: Any number of factors might have driven you towards the bottle—revelry and mirth, or sorrow and loss. Either way, you’ve found yourself unable to relax in the evenings without at least a blue to tide you over. In every post, you must slur your speech or take a drink from a “handy” bottle. 

General

Past Lives: Something never seemed quite right about your memories; perhaps they were attached to different people, or maybe you have returned even from death and retained a few of them. In every post, you must reference a memory or situation your character experienced in another lifetime. 

Merchant: The world might be coming to an end, but the highest good is still money, and you’ve got to get spheres out of pockets and into your hands somehow. In every post, you must advertise a good you are selling or conduct a business transaction. 

Kleptomaniac: You agree with the Merchant that the highest good is money, but you’re perfectly willing to let him get all the hard work of rounding up the spheres. You’re confident you can steal them and the items people buy too. In every post, you must attempt to steal something or try to repress your urge to swipe someone else’s loot. 

Gambler: The toss of the die, the coin quivering in midair—it’s these moments you live for. Your losses have been great. Your gains, so far? Greater. In every post, you must take some form of risk (whether with money or otherwise). 

Elderly: Back in your day, Highstorms didn’t come the wrong way, and darkeyed whippersnappers didn’t call themselves names out of ancient legend. Quite unfortunately, it’s no longer your day. In every post, you must reminisce about how great things used to be, or lament the deplorable attitudes of “kids these days.”

Glutton: You’re never far from food, as bland as that may sometimes be on Roshar. In every post, you must eat something. 

Make Your Own: PM El and I when we sign up if you have a different idea than the ones we put here. There have been some really creative ones like Madagascar’s Drunk Crazy Cat Lady, so have some fun with it, and we shudder are excited to see what you all come up with this time around.  

Housekeeping: 

Each Day turn will be 48 hours long, with a simple no-vote-minimum lynch. The player receiving the most votes at the end of the Day turn will be killed; should there be a tie, a random player from among those lynched will die. Each Night turn will be 24 hours long, allowing the various factions and Radiants to submit orders. 

An inactivity filter of two cycles will be enforced. This is subject to change based on player count. 

To reiterate, PMs are open so long as an Edgedancer is alive. Please remember to include both @Elbereth and myself in any PMs made. 

Rollover will occur at 4 AM EST (-4:00 UTC) and may be posted by either El or myself. Due to writeups and the need to send PMs, this will typically take about an hour. Please be patient and bear in mind that there are likely thirty of you to keep tabs on.

This game is a completely anonymous game. Please sign up by PMing both @Elbereth and myself with the title “AG6 Signup Request: [Your Name Here]” and include your chosen character and Cosmetic Role (details above) in the PM. Do not tell anyone whether or not you are playing the game. This both makes identity-guessing more fun and ensures the integrity of any voting we may do at the end of the game for non-Sanderson passes. If you wish to spectate, please PM us in a similar manner, and do not reveal that you are doing so. To facilitate anonymity, this thread will be locked, and we urge any discussion about rules changes to be made in the Q&A/Meta Discussion thread. 

At the start of the game, you will be issued an anonymous account. There are a number of rules associated with the use of an Anonymous Account. Please follow them carefully. Given the potential for abuse of Anonymous Accounts, any rule breaking using the accounts will be dealt with harshly.

1) Do not change the password of the anonymous account you are issued. Wilson (the IM), El and I will have access to all anonymous accounts for the duration of the game.

2) Do not use the anonymous accounts to PM any non-anonymous account, other than the accounts of the GMs. Please do not use your normal accounts to PM anonymous accounts.

3) Once again, do not tell any other player or individual associated with SE whether you are playing or not playing the Anonymous Game. Player identities will be revealed after the game, not on the death of their avatar. Players must not reveal their own identity after their death, until the end of the game, including in the dead/spec doc. Players wishing to spectate rather than play should PM El and myself for a link to the spectator doc. Questions and rules clarifications should be submitted in your sign up PMs, and will be posted by myself in the signups thread.

4) Do not change anything cosmetic about the accounts, including member title, username, signature, and avatar.

Good luck to all, and we hope to get this thing started in about a week.  

Quick Links: 

Spoiler

Day 1: A Shadow in the Night

Night 1: Revenge 

Day 2: Shadow and Flame 

Night 2: A Need For Exploration 

Day 3: Chances 

Night 3: Foiled Again 

Day 4: A Dangerous Blade 

Night 4: Written to Die 

Day 5: A Blaze of Fire 

Night 5: Something Happened I Think 

Day 6: Axehound, Found and Lost 

Night 6: Off With Her Head 

Day 7: Fire, Honour and Grief 

Night 7: Our Prayers Arise 

Day 8: A Giant Walrus 

Aftermath: Overture

Finale: A New Year

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Elbereth

[Fifth Scholar]

Thanks to everyone who’s signed up so far. The game is officially scheduled to start at 4 AM EST on Thursday 26 December, so you have a little more than three days to decide if you’re playing, should you still be on the fence. Given that we are limited to thirty anonymous accounts, any players who signed up outside the first 24 hours will have a chance of being included as a pinch-hitter if we get more signups than we have Anonymous accounts, but right now we still have over half a dozen slots left open, so please feel free to join—you’ll have a pretty good chance of getting in no matter what.  If you’d like to sign up as a pinch-hitter, that’s also fine should you not anticipate being available for the first few cycles. 

[Fifth Scholar]

Merry Christmas, SE!  A quick reminder that you’ve got about 22 hours left to sign up, so this is your last chance if you’re still on the fence about participating. There are still plenty of slots open for those interested, so please join if you haven’t already. If you’re already signed up, expect a PM from El around this time tomorrow  

[Elbereth]

 

Day 1: A Shadow in the Night

The stone along the walls of Urithiru swirled in strange patterns under the lantern light, veins of stone twirling into shapes without meaning. The chamber in which they stood was high-ceilinged, some kind of atrium long unused but still beautiful. 

"This will be where we'll stay at night, for now," one of the co-captains announced over the chatter of the room. "Find a spot to sleep and make sure it's comfortable - the real work starts tomorrow, and you'll want to be awake for that!"

A round of scattered chuckles followed, and then rising conversational murmurs as the group began to spread out. The "real work" was mapping this floor's veins of stone, since apparently only Knights Radiant or their squires could see the colors there. There were scribes along to mark down their findings, but only the Knights could describe the stone accurately. For some of them, that was laughably easy work compared to the life before they became Radiant, but for others it would be hard indeed. 

And for one of them, it would not happen at all. 

---

Ellira set up her bedroll in a corner, near the man with eyes of two colors - some strange quirk of proto-Radiancy, she thought, or perhaps he was just born with it. She'd been watching Naihar for a while now - but then, she'd been watching them all for a while. With a man like him, any special attention would be noticed. 

She smiled as she curled into her blankets. It had been a while since she'd been given such an interesting assignment. Not only was she becoming a Lightweaver, she had a dangerous assassination target and a few fellow Ghostbloods along and under her command should she need them later on. She didn't know what 'later on' meant - she'd be told by Spanreed later - but the whole scenario gave her the thrill of the deadly dance she loved. 

She'd placed her bed such that she had to pass by his to visit the designated latrine area, and did so once early in the night to check on the guard situation. There was only one, and he looked bored - she toyed with the idea of a little flirting with him, but decided against it for tonight. Better if no one remembered her being around at all. 

Much later, when the atrium was quiet but for the occasional snore, Ellira rose again whisper-quiet. Her dagger was already drawn at her side, so that it wouldn't make any noise sliding out of its sheath. Her Lightweaving wasn't skilled yet, but she had practiced a few basic things over and over - like mimicking the sound of a light snore from her own bed, masking any tiny sound she made as she walked lightly over to him. 

His head was turned such that as little of his neck was available as possible, and even that was under his blanket. She suspected he was probably wearing some kind of lightweight armor anywhere it didn't show, too. That seemed his style. 

But Ellira had not been given this mission for no reason, and she struck without hesitation before he could sense her presence. Her knife plunged into his neck, and she made sure his vocal chords were cut before he could make a sound. 

She smiled softly as blood began to pour from his wound and soak into his blanket, dark in the dim light. Not her preferred kind of kill - she liked the intimate touch of a passionate kiss combined with a knife to the heart - but a well-executed one nonetheless.

Then something even darker than blood emerged from under the blanket, spilling out and then coalescing as she watched. Ellira frowned, and backed away towards her bed. She wasn't completely familiar with Roshar yet. Whatever that was, she didn't want to go anywhere near it. Naihar was dead, and if he somehow wasn't, she could kill him again easily enough. 

She wiped off her dagger with a practiced motion, slid it back into its sheath on her thigh, and settled back into her bedroll. Her sleep was light, as always, but uninterrupted - that is, until morning. 

Morning was when someone found Naihar. Morning is when the shouting started. 

---

From a letter found in Naihar's belongings: 

Join the Radiants. Keep them away from Her. Kill them where possible. Be wary. 

Give this letter to Her on your successful return. She will grant you the power you desire so long as you serve Odium well. 

May the Everstorm come again. 

---

Alvron (Naihar) was an Odium Sympathizer! 

 

The game has begun! Day 1 will end in 48 hours, at 1am Pacific Time on December 28th. PMs should be sent within the next ten minutes; PM me if yours goes missing. @little wilson is the Impartial Moderator for this game. Remember to use your anonymous accounts, and your CRs! 

PMs are open. Please include myself, @Fifth Scholar, and @little wilson in any PM. Group PMs are allowed, and may have as many as half of the living players (so, 12 presently) in them. 

Player List

1. Amber Vulture: Jashi, Stormwarden
2. Amethyst Scorpion: Jesh, Lost Axehound
3. Chartreuse Penguin: Taladir, Gambler
4. Coral Swan: Germaine, Scholar
5. Cream Tuatara: Dfyan, Scholar
6. Emerald Falcon: Sein, Inquisitive
7. Indigo Weasel: Adhom Inem, Ardent
8. Ivory Dragonfly: Krask, Conspiracy Theorist
9. Magenta Albatross: Jonan Wikim, Lost Axehound (Gren)
10. Mauve Crocodile: Sernes, Paranoid Scout
11. Mint Heron: Sam, Once a Darkeyes
12. Onyx Flamingo: Kir, Kleptomaniac Scout
13. Opal Lion: Tnaidar, Scout
14. Pearl Chameleon: Purrl, Adolin’s Former Girlfriend
15. Plum Rhinoceros: Logalog, Scholar
16. Quartz Zebra: Arauna Khadal, Adolin’s Former Girlfriend
17. Saffron Iguana: Merinira, Scout
18. Sage Kangaroo: Gilglin, Ardent (Devotary of the Mind)
19. Salmon Meerkat: Cadamum, Ghostblood Recruit
20. Scarlet Octopus: Max Mercury, Past Lives
21. Sunburst Toucan: Tafud, Slightly Crazy
22. Taupe Gecko: Brana, Scholar
23. Turqoise Gorilla: Bomer, Gambler
24. Violet Axolotl: Adi, Anxious

[Elbereth]

All PMs should be sent. If you don't have one, bother Fifth about it. I'm going to bed. 

[Saffron Iguana]

Heya people, and merry Christmas! I won't be posting much, if at all, for the next 24 hours or so, as I've still got a christmas dinner with family to go explore, but after that I'll try to get into the swing of things!

Edited December 26, 2019 by Saffron Iguana
oh, right, cosmetic roles XD

[Violet Axolotl]

"H-hi hello, greetings and all that," happy day/night/timezone to the peoples. Adi was unsure what to do. A lot of new, or at least, unfamiliar faces. Apparently someone got killed in their sleep. Sad. Wasn't Adi. That much he could be grateful for. 1..2..3...4...5... skip a few...23...23 count yourself, 24. And a partridge in a pear tree. Wait no. Pear tree? Are those things here. I don't know. Of no matter. Probably no partridges either. No matter. Focus focus. Why are they here? Why are we here, I should say. People to find, people to find... "HI! um, hi. My name is Adi. Okay bye"

[Taupe Gecko]

Brana - Roshar - Jesachev 1172

I skimmed through the paper I was reading, On the Nahel Bond, and its form in the Cognitive Realm, slightly bored - leave it to a scholar to take an interesting topic and bury it under so much jargon that it becomes impossible to read. I looked up from my book, to see someone passing by. Was that...

"Lady Jasnah!" I called out.

Lady Jasnah looked back over at me, with an impatient look on her face. I stopped. "I just wanted to say, I'm really glad to be studying with you, and I'm looking forward to working with you to investigate the mysteries of the Knights Radiant."

Jasnah gave me a blank look. "You're one of the new interns?"

I nodded eagerly. "I was really excited when I got the news - this is always something I've wanted to do, and..." I cut of seeing Jasnah's distracted expression. "Anyway, I won't let you down."

"Well, Brana. Welcome to the group." She nodded to me, politely but curtly, and strode off, at a slightly faster pace than before.

That went quite well, Brana thought. She returned to reading the paper, energy renewed.

[Fifth Scholar]

PSA: Somehow at least a few, if not all of these accounts got mod privileges. Please do not mess with anything, as we can see it from the backend, and just play the game as normal. Apologies for the inconvenience/oddity, and it will hopefully be corrected in short order. 

[Plum Rhinoceros]

Logalog valued sleep. So naturally, his homicidal tendencies flared up when he was rather violently shook awake by some squire he vaguely recognised. There had been a murder, he said. In this very room, he said. How could a man have slept through all that shouting and commotion that had followed afterward, he said. 

Logalog ignored the squire and rubbed his eyes, for he did not trust his tongue to respond in a socially acceptable manner after being disturbed out of his slumber like that. 

He glanced around the room and found it empty save for the the two of them. The Knights and squires had presumably left to work on mapping the viens of stone - that did not concern Logalog, though. He wasn't a Knight or a squire and definitely not a scribe. No, he'd only been sleeping in this room because it was nearest to the gem archive, which Logalog had been hoping to get a peek of. It was easy -even for him- to get past that one guard.

As some great scholar like Logalog once said, "Life is a challenge. We must not waste time and...and..." Something. Mind over memory, that's what Logalog believed.

- - -

It was soon publicly known that the target of the murder in the night had been an Odium Sympathizer. How utterly disgusting, Logalog thought. He had apparently been trying to infiltrate the Knights Radiant. Bah. 

But if there was one, there will be more.

[Mint Heron]

Sam woke up on a fancy bed, a step up from the bed he'd had as a darkeyed child. It was still strange to him, the soft bed that suffocated him, but he had to get used to it. He quickly got dressed and rushed to the scene of the murder. The victim was supposedly a servant of the Lord of Hate, but that could be mere speculation. As he moved through the crowd that had gathered, he couldn't help but avoid their eyes. It still felt odd to walk among lighteyes as an equal, and the thought of his lovely dark brown eyes turning blue... Horrible. And yet it was happening. 

The body was covered in blood, and a sheet nearby was also covered in the stuff. Everyone surrounded the corpse, and he couldn't see well enough to analyze anything. There wasn't enough discussion to even speculate on who was a servant of Odium. He sighed and walked back to his tent. 

[Chartreuse Penguin]

Stumbling from his bedroll, Taladir grumbled about his lack of sleep.

“If you hadn’t been up playing that stupid game of yours, maybe You wouldn’t be so–”

“Shut up, Nalitam, or by the Stormfather’s thundery farts, I’ll kill ya,” Taladir replied to his friend. His gambling problem was well known, but storms, he wasn’t going to let Nalitam enjoy something at this awful hour of morning. 

A murder? Taladir thought he was the riskiest soldier here, but someone who was willing to kill another right under the noses of Radiants? Stormfather’s breezy underwear, that was bold. In a way, Taladir was almost jealous of the murderer and the thrill that such a risk would provide. That was one that would keep ya going for a couple days, at least. 

When they discovered Naihar was a plant for Odium, Taladir was even more surprised. That was a spheresy move, that was. Didn’t pay off for the sap in the end, but he musta had spheres of a herald to do that. 

Bomer was the biggest gambler Taladir knew. Taladir knew the feeling of a high from a risk and this was one the other man would’ve died for. Or maybe he really would die for it. 

[Magenta Albatross]

As Jonan had woken up during the middle of the night because of a bad dream and instinctively reached out to pet Gren...except she wasn't there. Oh, he thought to himself, that's right. Instead of letting himself get upset over his missing axehound again, he went back to sleep.

He woke up the next morning to shouts and panicked movement. A passing squire shook him fully awake, and he pushed the woman away. "I know, I know, just give me a moment." As he stood up, he felt a sharp pain in his side from where the men who kidnapped his axehound had hit him that fateful night. The only clue he had to figure out who they were (for they had snuck up on him and he never had a chance to see their faces) was that he was pretty sure whoever hit him had used a club of some kind. 

As much as it pained him to not be searching for Gren, he followed the crowd of people to see what all the fuss was about. 

When he arrived to the scene, he was surprised to see Naihar had been killed. And there were whispers of him working for Odium...and the possibility that more of them were traitors too.  As if this couldn't get worse, he thought to himself.

~

Okay, so no one's done any analysis yet and we're just over 7 hours into the cycle already. With 24 players in the game, I'd suspect that there are at least 5 elims, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were 6. There's probably at least one Dustbringer, which would balance out the 6th elim, and with the possibility of a second (or even third) Dustbringer via the Worldhopper, that's a lot of (probably) village kills for the elims to worry about. I'd expect at least one of each of the Radiants, with maybe a couple duplicates. I'm not sure what would be duplicated, though I doubt there are two Dustbringers. There's probably at least two Windrunners.

Anyway, that's all I got right now. 

[Amber Vulture]

Years of hard work, ruined! Or not ruined, for the framework for how the model had been created is still usable, even if the current model can no longer predict the movement of the Highstorm. I have been sent to Urithiru as part of an investigation of the man who bonded the Stormfather. Surely he could give an explanation for the incorrectly traveling Everstorm and the mysteriously summoned Highstorm that has thrown off all the calculations. Perhaps I will even be able to converse with the Stormfather himself. That would make up for all the difficulties we've endured these past few months. I do not like being unable to determine when the next storm will strike. There should have been one today, but the sky remains clear here at the top of the world. When the next storm does come, I'll have to investigate. My new friend will be helpful for this endeavor. I still can't believe Torl chose me to be a Radiant.

[Saffron Iguana]

25 minutes ago, Magenta Albatross said:

Okay, so no one's done any analysis yet and we're just over 7 hours into the cycle already. With 24 players in the game, I'd suspect that there are at least 5 elims, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were 6. There's probably at least one Dustbringer, which would balance out the 6th elim, and with the possibility of a second (or even third) Dustbringer via the Worldhopper, that's a lot of (probably) village kills for the elims to worry about. I'd expect at least one of each of the Radiants, with maybe a couple duplicates. I'm not sure what would be duplicated, though I doubt there are two Dustbringers. There's probably at least two Windrunners.

I'm not surprised things are quiet. A lot of people will be  doing stuff with family on the 2nd day of Christmas, so I suspect most people to check in in the second half of the cycle.

Anyway, I dug up some ancient literature on the Radiants from... I think it was someone's personal library? One shelf of books and a comfortable seat in an out-of-the-way cubicle can't have been much else anyway...sorry, getting back on track. n, based on what the book describes they can do, there's a lot of useful things, but nothing ground-shaking.

The roles are fairly standard, which is pretty much as usual for the AG. Windrunners are lurchers, dustbringers are coinshots, elsecallers are thugs, etc. With a game this size, there are a lot of possible role distributions, so I don't think it'll be too useful to speculate on the exact division. Magenta's suggestions sound reasonable, but there could probably also be no village dustbringers but several village worldhoppers, or multiple village windrunners balanced by an elim dustbringer or a large number of elim worldhoppers, to name just a couple of things.

[Salmon Meerkat]

After it was revealed that Naihar had been an Odium Sympathizer, things began to fit into place. As a recruit for the Ghostbloods, it was extremely difficult for someone to provide new valuable information to such a secret organization that had been running for years. But that was the only way to become more than just a simple recruit.

The Ghostbloods obviously knew that Naihar was an Odium Sympathizer. All Cadamum had to do was determine why they would have wanted him of all people killed. Naihar did not have any extremely important role. Plus the notes found with his belongings seemed to suggest that there was a much more important person who was also an odium Sympathizer. If the note could be taken at face value, it would be a woman. So the question remains, which high-ranking official who is female is also an odium Sympathizer.

Perhaps this is what the Ghostbloods are attempting to determine. Or perhaps they simply wanted to make the Radiants aware of the infiltrators in their ranks. Ghostbloods motives were so difficult to determine.

Cadamum had decided if he wanted to get that emerald broam of information that would make it so the Ghostbloods would accept him, it was time to start investigating the high-ranking female officials, as it seemed one of them was an infiltrator.

Perhaps that would also help him gain favor in the eyes of Dalinar and the other high-ranking Radiants. Being high in the Radiants would surely be good for his place in the Ghostbloods.

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I'll start off stating that I think I disagree with magenta with regards to the presence of a dustbringer. It is certainly possible, however, I would almost expect there to not be any dustbringers, but 2 or 3 worldhoppers, who would then have the option to become a dustbringer. But then again I don't remember the last game where there was a role like the dustbringer. So that means it's been at least a little while. So it could happen.

I think there will only be 1 or 2 skybreakers though. There's probably about 2 lightweavers, and also probably 2 willshapers.

Right now I don't really have the energy to do any more analysis other than a rudimentary possible role distribution. I'll try to do more later.

[Turquoise Gorilla]

1 hour ago, Chartreuse Penguin said:

Stumbling from his bedroll, Taladir grumbled about his lack of sleep.

“If you hadn’t been up playing that stupid game of yours, maybe You wouldn’t be so–”

“Shut up, Nalitam, or by the Stormfather’s thundery farts, I’ll kill ya,” Taladir replied to his friend. His gambling problem was well known, but storms, he wasn’t going to let Nalitam enjoy something at this awful hour of morning. 

A murder? Taladir thought he was the riskiest soldier here, but someone who was willing to kill another right under the noses of Radiants? Stormfather’s breezy underwear, that was bold. In a way, Taladir was almost jealous of the murderer and the thrill that such a risk would provide. That was one that would keep ya going for a couple days, at least. 

When they discovered Naihar was a plant for Odium, Taladir was even more surprised. That was a spheresy move, that was. Didn’t pay off for the sap in the end, but he musta had spheres of a herald to do that. 

Bomer was the biggest gambler Taladir knew. Taladir knew the feeling of a high from a risk and this was one the other man would’ve died for. Or maybe he really would die for it. 

"Ah Taldir, I see we meet at the tables again! I never would have thought to see you at the tables again after handing you a steaming pile of defeat all that time ago!"

"I'm grateful for your challenge! I do believe you enjoy a gamble almost as much as I do. Let us allow all around us to join in! Taldir, I find as I get older the only stakes worth playing for are life and death."

"As for the rest of you, I believe there may be one or two among you who have the surge of division. I ask you to avoid use here as it drastically alters odds and the odds are my gods! I'd imagine there may be two or three worldhoppers as that role seems fun, but unpredictable. That leaves 20 of the rest of us which I doubt would be very far from evenly split."

"May the chaos ensue my friends and enemies!"

[Ivory Dragonfly]

This Urithiru was massive, larger than anything that Krask had ever seen before. The tower--well--towered over everything, reaching up into the sky. Yet despite its magnitude, it had never felt so small. 

A man had just been murdered. The thought wiggled in the rear of Krask's brain. And the evidence confirmed his worst suspicions: there was a plot among them. Not that this was surprising, no. But Naihar? The man was only #16 on Krask's list of likely cult members. Krask gave a passerby the evil eye. She scurried away.

The cogs were starting to turn in his head. If Naihar was a cultist and got murdered, then there must be another enitity at work... one willing to kill. The two know each other and are trying to stop each other from... doing what? Krask scratched his stubble, scowling. His face must of have been reminiscent of an Unmade, because a child nearby ran for his mother. He paid the boy no mind.

He had to get to the bottom of this plot, because surely these cremlings around him couldn't see the bigger picture.

[Emerald Falcon]

Sein bolted past a wall of metal, screaming as loudly as his speakers would allow.

He was a small drone, in the shape of an eight-pointed star. His bright blue eye blinked in his center display, sweeping from left to right. All his sensors were on alert. He strafed left and right through the air, floating above the ground in a zigzag path.

Glowing red beams whizzed past him. One of them passed just by him, so close that he felt the air heating around his shell. A moment later, a ball of purple light flew in front of him. Sein dashed backwards, just as it exploded in front of him. A hunk of metal caught in the blast radius vaporized. He screamed louder.

He had three Vex goblins and one minotaur on his tail, firing at him. That was a problem. In retrospect, Sein probably shouldn't have tried to get a closer look at the triangular portal they were guarding, even if it was marked as partially under Guardian control.

Another barrage of shots. Sein yelped. They were getting closer. He assessed his internal map. No nearby Guardians to save him. Only this stupid portal structure that he'd been running around for minutes, broadcasting cries for help. He couldn't keep dodging the Vex. Eventually they would kill him. Or, worse, infect him.

Whatever was in the portal couldn't be worse than being converted by these Vex. Sein veered left, towards the blue portal in the middle. A red beam passed just under him, so close that he felt the heat emanating off of it. And so he sank into the portal, screaming.

---

Sein tumbled out of the portal into a chamber of brown stone. A moment later, the portal closed with a wet-sounding ploop. Hopefully the Vex wouldn't follow.

"Whew! That was close!" Sein closed his eye in relief.

Now, all he had to do was figure out when and where he was. He assessed the networks around him and...No radio broadcasts. No internet. Not even a single GPS satellite. Sein floated on to the next room, hoping that he'd get a better signal there.

Still nothing. 

And so he floated on to the next room.

This one still had no signal, but it had a lot of people. Sein rose up to eye level with one of them and said, "Excuse me, could you tell me what planet or moon this is? And the date?"

---

Anyone want to help a poor, lost Ghost who got himself lost in the wrong universe?

Edited December 26, 2019 by Emerald Falcon
Formatting

[Amethyst Scorpion]

"Has anyone seen a loose axehound? Kinda purple, about this tall?" Jesh held his hand a few inches below his head. "She's real friendly. And playful."

People around Jesh barely spared him a glance, business apparently too important to help a poor kid find his lost pet, regardless of eye color. Most of the lighteyes around outranked him, and his age made him less important to any darkeyes. Jesh normally didn't mind, but this new place was scary and Trisk was missing. She'd be just as scared without him as he was without her.

"Please, anyone? My axehound is missing. She won't know where to find me here. Please?"

Jesh kept walking through the strange halls of Urithiru, calling out for Trist and asking for help. Still not getting anything. He turned a corner to find a dead end, no Trist.

A strange light appeared at the end of the hall. A small... thing exploded out of the center of the light, which quickly disappeared. That left a floating, glowing object in middle of the dead end hall.

"Excuse me, could you tell me what planet or moon this is? And the date?" 

"Voidbringer!" Jesh started to run.

@Emerald Falcon (couldn't pass up RPing with a Destiny crossover!)

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I agree with Meerkat about not having a dustbringer around at the beginning. I'd normally say only one skybreaker, but there are quite a few players, so it's possible there are two. Most other roles will have two, I think, though I haven't read up on the rules much. 

[Emerald Falcon]

The person that Sein approached turned and ran.

"Voidbringer!"

Sein floated after him.

"No, no, you have it wrong, I'm just by myself. No Voidwalkers with me. I haven't found my Guardian yet." He blinked in what he hoped was a disarming way. "All I want to know is what planet or moon I'm on, and what the date is."

@Amethyst Scorpion

[Mauve Crocodile]

Sernes walked the dead halls of Urithiru, scouting for Dalinar Kholin. The system of tunnels down here was quite remarkable, and the Highprince wanted to know what he had to work with in the coming days. He took one turn, then another, recording each intersection on his ledger. As Sernes made a left turn, he did a double take toward the other passage. There had been... eyes, in the darkness, he was sure of it. As he held his spheres aloft, however, there was no sign of anyone save himself in the tunnel. Sernes shook his head. Anyone who spent too long in the darkness would start seeing things that weren't there. He returned to his scouting, but marked the intersection with an "X", just in case.

---

 

Back in the mess hall, Sernes kept to himself. The news of Odium's allies infiltrating the Knights, combined with the strange feeling of being watched at that intersection, hadn't left him in the mood for discussion. Some of the other scouts were discussing their discoveries, and tried multiple times to draw Sernes into the discussion. Each time he gave a noncommittal grunt, then returned to his food. He did notice, however, that nobody mentioned seeing eyes in the darkness. If the other scouts were involved with Odium, then why bother reporting anything suspicious? He resolved to mention that to Dalinar, in particular, Onyx Flamingo/Kir, who had seemed especially uncaring during the meal.

---

If anyone wants to vote for me, I'm fine with you using my RP name, Sernes, if that's easier to type. Until I hear preferences from other players, I'll vote like I did above.

[Opal Lion]

Tnaidar tapped along to the soft music playing in the background as the lift lowered him into the depths of the majestic tower city.

Catchy, he thought. Who knew ancient Radiants were such great composers?

His team had found the music-producing fabrials came from only last week, but already the artifabrians had installed them in every lift in Uruthiru. Tnaidar far preferred it to the endless silence that he'd had to sit through before on his often long lift trips.

As the music played, his thoughts turned to what had happened this morning. A Radiant, found dead- but, even more alarmingly, in possible cahoots with the Voidbringers!

What is this world coming to? Tnaidar wondered. 

With a ding! the elevator doors opened.

-------------

5 hours ago, Magenta Albatross said:

Okay, so no one's done any analysis yet and we're just over 7 hours into the cycle already. With 24 players in the game, I'd suspect that there are at least 5 elims, though I wouldn't be surprised if there were 6. There's probably at least one Dustbringer, which would balance out the 6th elim, and with the possibility of a second (or even third) Dustbringer via the Worldhopper, that's a lot of (probably) village kills for the elims to worry about. I'd expect at least one of each of the Radiants, with maybe a couple duplicates. I'm not sure what would be duplicated, though I doubt there are two Dustbringers. There's probably at least two Windrunners.

Anyway, that's all I got right now. 

4 hours ago, Salmon Meerkat said:

I'll start off stating that I think I disagree with magenta with regards to the presence of a dustbringer. It is certainly possible, however, I would almost expect there to not be any dustbringers, but 2 or 3 worldhoppers, who would then have the option to become a dustbringer. But then again I don't remember the last game where there was a role like the dustbringer. So that means it's been at least a little while. So it could happen.

I think there will only be 1 or 2 skybreakers though. There's probably about 2 lightweavers, and also probably 2 willshapers.

Right now I don't really have the energy to do any more analysis other than a rudimentary possible role distribution. I'll try to do more later.

2 hours ago, Amethyst Scorpion said:

I agree with Meerkat about not having a dustbringer around at the beginning. I'd normally say only one skybreaker, but there are quite a few players, so it's possible there are two. Most other roles will have two, I think, though I haven't read up on the rules much. 

Taking a look at the rules, it seems that this game will be pretty standard.

Quote

Windrunner: Each Night, the Windrunner may uphold their Oaths, and protect another player from a single attack. This ability may not be used on the same player two Nights in a row. 

Dustbringer: Each Night, the Dustbringer may use the Surge of Division to kill a player. 

A protection role and a kill role. Compare to a Lurcher and Coinshot respectively in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess most likely only one of each.

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Edgedancer: While any Edgedancer is alive, PMs are completely open (group PMs included, with up to one-half of all living players). Once all Edgedancers are dead, nobody is around to deliver messages anymore, and private PMs are closed. Each Night, the Edgedancer may submit an anonymous message to be posted in the next Day’s writeup. 

Standard PM role. Compare to a Tineye in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess either two or three.

Quote

Elsecaller: An Elsecaller may use the Surge of Transportation once per game to escape a single lynch or kill attempt. This ability is passive.

Passive self-protect. Compare to a Thug in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess either one or two.

Quote

Bondsmith: Each Day turn, a Bondsmith may use his leadership and influence to cow another player, cancelling their vote. 

Willshaper: Each Day turn, a Willshaper may use their powers to transfer one player’s vote to another player, at the cost of negating their own vote. 

Standard vote manip. Compare to a Soother and Rioter respectively in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess four or five total.

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Skybreaker: Each Night, the Skybreaker may investigate one person, targeting them to discover their role and alignment. 

Standard scan role. Compare to a Seeker in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess only one.

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Lightweaver: Each Night, a Lightweaver may cover himself and up to one other player with illusions, keeping them safe from Skybreakers, Bondsmiths, and Willshaper until the end of the next Day turn. 

Standard hide role. Compare to a Smoker in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess only one.

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Worldhopper: Each Day turn, receives a random Radiant power. If a previously held power would be received, the die is rerolled, and the new power is granted regardless of whether or not it was previously held.

Random power role. Compare to a Mistborn in an equivalent Mistborn game. I would guess only one.

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New Recruit: You’ll be a Radiant...someday. For now, you have no special powers, but your voice is still important to the group—with all the real Radiants off using their powers, you’re content to observe the action and see who may be lying. Have no special abilities.

Standard no-power role.

Taking a closer look, the roles of this game seem to be exactly identical to those of QF32 (with a small modification to the Mistborn role).

This game was only 17 players, so it won't provide a perfect example, but it might help give a general idea for how many of each role exists.

 

[Cream Tuatara]

From my studies of the radiant orders, I wouldn't expect that we'd end up with any more than one Dustbringer, Skybreaker, and Worldhopper, but we'd have at least two Edgedancers. Beyond that I think there's little point in speculating on the distribution of radiants until we know more powers. We do know for sure that there is at least 1 Edgedancer, so that's something.

Because we do have an Edgedancer, just remember to be careful what information you reveal in private, particularly around your role. I know that teamwork and trust building requires some give and take, but keep in mind that even if you are roleless or don't have an important power, that information is incredibly important. For the Odium sympathisers, it allows them to narrow down the options for where the Knights Radiant important roles are.

In fact, for those with important abilities, your lack of important ability is valuable as it frees you up to play in a way that draws Odium's ire, pulling attention away from other players and thus prolong the life of the more powerful Radiants we have.

Going to put a poke vote on Sunburst Toucan in hopes they get on and post. A question for Toucan (although anyone feel free to answer), which do you think is the most interesting radiant power?

 

[Sage Kangaroo]

The page flipped, and answers were revealed. It was the nature of a book. Endless Quest. Questions and Answers. The scythes cutting down the wheat grown from the seeds planted by authors thought of more prescient than their present state. Propensities particularly pled partisan patterns piloting predictions previously preposterous. Slipping. Grasping, hands out reached. The texture of paper pressing in on fingerpads. Lack there of.

Gilglin stood from the stool she had been sitting on, crouching down and picking up the book from where it lay on the ground. Venleev stared. The book was retrieved, and the man rubbed his smooth scalp. The body that lay next to him on the stone table did not react. 

Well?
Well what?
How does it compare?
It's a corpse? It doesn't exactly fill me with the same wonder that Osha-son-Vani's Corpse Automata's descriptions of decomposition do. She gestured to the book she held in her hand.
They don't, do they? Venleev smiled. Yet there is something...Visceral in reality. No flowery words to make that death anything other than itself. Look at the body Gilglin. It is here. We use our eyes not rend this image from the words on a page, but to observe the true nature of the world around us. Do you understand why I have rejected your offer to join the Devotary of the Mind, despite my love of literature. My love stems not from the book itself, but from the deception it provides, the veil it casts on perception. We of the Devotary of Truth seek to observe the world for what it truly is, and the books I read are merely a chance to escape the heavy burden we bear.
She nodded. I'm disappointed Venleev. But I understand. She handed Corpse Automata back to him, and he took it. Please note that we will be happy to have you should you ever change your mind.
He nodded, then left.
Time passed. She followed, stool in her arms.

The Corpse judged all.